The Enderlord
by Mathis Irondil
Summary: He was thrown into the world at the worst possible time. Instead of finding the peace that had lasted in Notchavia for nearly one hundred years, he found the return of Him. Now it is up to Mathis and the armies of the Alliance to protect the world that they love.
1. Fort Vred

Chapter I: Fort Vred

He spawned on a plain with nothing in sight but the white of snow. There were no trees or hills or caves or any of the things that would help out a newly spawned player. In the sky he could see that the sun was directly overhead and he knew that it soon would be night. And without the protection of a shelter or proper tools, he would have nothing to protect himself from the imminent hoard that would surely find him in the dark.

This was his first time on the server, and he knew very little about it. What he did know was that it was insanely popular and could hold over one thousand players at a time, before it started to lag. There were also very few pluggins or mods on the server, one being the one that created random spawns for each individual player. The most intriguing thing about the server, however, was that it had developed it's own societies. Cities and alliances had popped up across the world with their own economies and the like.

There was nothing for him to do other than go off in search of materials. He could always dig a pit and hide in it for the night, but in the morning, he would still be in the same situation. So he decided to head North. Not that he thought that the north looked better than the other ways he could take, but he had always thought of North as up, and up had a more positive connotation to it than down.

So he walked through the snow until the light had nearly vanished beneath the horizon. He saw it then, just rendering into his view, a stone structure sitting in the plain. It looked to be a fort of some kind constructed out of stone, cobblestone, and stone bricks. By the look of it, he did not think it was one of the great cities he had been told about. It look more like a bandit hideout, and while he did not want to become a brigand, it seemed like his only chance for survival.

"Hey! Who the hell are you?" a player called from atop the fort as he approached it. He was wearing full leather armour with his cap and boots dyed cactus green and his tunic and leggings dyed light blue. The player pulled out his bow and pulled the string back, aiming it at him.

"I am... Mathis. A new player that has just spawned near here." he said, making up a name on the spot. On this server, players do not have a name floating above their heads, so it is up to them to make a name for themselves.

"How do I know you're not some fool from Gren? I should just shoot you here and now." the armoured player said.

"Put your bow down, Harry." another player said, walking up behind the bowman. "I've never seen this player before, and the scouts have not mentioned any new players in the Hall." he was wearing similar armour, but he wore an iron helmet on his head instead of a green cap.

"But.. Captian!" Harry protested.

"Mathis, is it? I am Captain Horus. Would you like to come inside for the night? We've got food and I think we could spare some wood and coal. I know there's not much out there in this frozen land." the iron helmed player asked.

Mathis noticed his hunger bar getting low, and if he could get a few blocks of wood he might be able to make it to one of the cities, or at least a friendly town. "That would be very nice." he said, and the gate opened for him. He walked into the fort and found it looked larger inside than on the outside.

There were six cobblestone houses at the back of the fort and several crafting tables and furnaces strewn throughout the rest of the inside. In the fair right corner was a small cow farm and a somewhat larger wheat farm, which Mathis decided how they were surviving and clothing themselves in this land of nothingness.

"Welcome, Mathis. Make yourself at home." Captain Horus said, tossing Mathis a few steaks, five spruce logs, and half a stack of coal. "You're the first new spawn I've seen pass through this land in a month. Most spawn in the Green Plains or Grey Swamp."

"Lucky me..." Mathis said to himself.

"Yes. Lucky you. Anyway, where do you plan on going after this?" Horus asked, and then chewed on a steak.

"I really have no idea. This is my first time playing, and I don't know the map very well, or at all really." Mathis answered. "What should I be doing?" he asked, and then regretted the decision, thinking them bandits.

"Hmmm, well, that's up to you. You could head to one of the cities and get a job. There is always work to be done, whether it's mining or building or just collecting items from monsters. I'm not even scratching the surface of the careers, and you could even invent one for yourself." Horus said. "Hell, you could even just go on adventures. There is nothing you can't do. Physically anyway. Some states have laws and that garbage."

"Thanks. But seeing as I have no idea where I am, I think I'm pretty much screwed. Maybe I'll just keep heading North." Mathis said.

"North. Yes. Nothing good comes from the south." Captain Horus said, and then looked back to the houses. "Shalen, bring me one of our maps. Preferably the one with the entire of Notchavia."

Soon another player wearing armour identical to Harry's appeared and gave Horus a map, which he then gave to Mathis. "This snow plains area is really big. I'm lucky I didn't get lost."

"Yes. These are the Alabaster Plains. The largest region on the continent. It is a wild and dangerous place, and not somewhere for the unarmed to be venturing." the captain said. "Do you see that grey square just before that mountain range? That is here, Fort Vred. One of the only four safe places in Alabaster, if you can call it safe."

"What makes it so much more dangerous than the rest of the world? Surely that desert at the top of the map is just as bad. If not worse." Mathis asked.

"That desert is nowhere near the level of danger of this frozen world. Trust me, head North. Do you see that large spot in the plains just above the white? That is Lazuline City. It's our home, and is the nicest city in Notchavia, in my opinion anyway." Horus said, and Mathis saw the spot that he was talking about. The spot was quite large, especially compared to the spot that represented Fort Vred.

"You're home?" Mathis asked.

"Yes. Fort Vred is the last remaining garrison of Lazuline. It was built seven years ago, shortly after Gren Hall fell to the bandits." Horus explained.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Seven years? There is no way this server has existed for seven years." the newly spawned player protested.

"He means seven days, newbie. Here we call a day in real life a year. It's not actually accurate, I think one day equals five Minecraft years if you count up the days and all that. But we pretty much just use a day for a year." Harry said.

"Thank you, Harry, for that bit of information." the captain said with much sarcasm.

"So, you guys aren't bandits then?" Mathis asked.

"Bandits? No!" he said with a laugh. "We're soldiers of the Lazuline army. Why one Earth would you think we were bandits?"

"Umm, well..." Mathis said, looking around at the hovel they were living in.

"Oh, right. Well, in all fairness, Fort Vred was built in a hurry. During the war,... I'm sure you'll find out about that later,... Lazuline needed as many fortifying structures as it could get. The Enemy had a much larger army than the Allaince, so our only hope at surviving the invasion was to keep them locked inside the Alabaster Plains. It worked, for the most part." Horus said. "Anyway, I think that Lazuline would be a nice place for you to start. Maybe you'll even decide to become a citizen."

And then, something very unexpected happened. Just as Mathis was about to accept the idea, an arrow was shout out of the white nothingness of the plain. It hit Harry in the neck, knocking him from to top of the tower all the way to the ground.

"What the hell!" Horus cried out, running to the soldier. "Harry! Are you alright? How many hearts do you have?"

"One and a half,... but I'm regening." Harry said, regaining himself after the shock.

"Who the hell shot you?" he asked, climbing up the ladder to the top. In the distance, he could see the quick shadows of players in plain brown leather darting around in the short hills. "Bandits." Horus said, and looked down at the two. "Harry, get down in the mine until you're back at full health. And get the others up here too. They are going to assault us. And it's going to be a hard hit."

"How many of them are there?" Harry asked before he left.

"They keep moving around, trying to stay hidden. But I can say at least twenty-seven." Horus said with certainty in his voice.

"Gren." Harry said. "Mathis, come with me. You may not be one of us, but as long as you ain't no bandit, we'll get you protection." he said, and ran down into the mine, with Mathis following.

"Gren Hall. There were forty of you once, and we took you down to twenty-seven. But you also brought our number down to thirteen." Captain Horus said to himself, looking over the edge of the fort. "Fort Vred cannot fall. I will give my life to defend it."

Down in the mine Harry called to the others. Shalem and ten other players dressed in the light blue and cactus green uniform came up from their tunnels. "Who's the new guy, huh? Some new grunt the general send us to break in?" one of them joked, and several of the others laughed with him..

"There is no time for that, Jerem. We are under attack." Harry said, and the group quieted. "It's Gren Hall. One of them hit me with an arrow, which I'm guessing was by mistake. This may mean that they have a new recruit."

"Gren Hall? Should we call for reinforcements?" one soldier asked.

"There is no way we can take them out. If they do have a new guy, who's to say it's the only one? We didn't even stand a chance against them with twenty-seven." the one called Jerem said.

"We fought them forty to fourteen before, and look what happened. Yes, we lost Vred, but they lost many more." Harry said.

"Yeah, but now we've got thirteen. That's a very unlucky number, Harry. Call me superstitious, but the odds don't look good for us." a soldier commented.

"But we don't have thirteen soldiers." Harry said, and turned to Mathis.


	2. An Unlucky Turn

Chapter II: An Unlucky Turn

Down in the mineshaft of Fort Vred, thirteen players stood dressed in light blue and cactus green armour. Mathis, equipped the bow and arrows Harry had given him, felt he was ready to fight. Not that he wanted to, but he felt that needed to. He had only been in Fort Vred for a short time, less than ten minutes actually, but Horus had been kind to him and had helped him.

"Ready? To battle!" Harry shouted, holding up his iron sword. The company charged out of the mines and Horus threw open the gates from at top the tower. The soldiers armed with swords charged out of the gate, while Mathis and three other archers climbed the walls, and prepared to fire.

"Fort Vred can not fall to these bandits." Horus said, and the battle began. The nine warriors charged out onto the field and out from the holes and from behind hills came the bandits. They were dressed in full leather armour, undyed, wielding stone and iron swords. "There are more than twenty-seven. They've been recruiting." the captain said to himself.

"Volley!" Shalen shouted, and the three other archers let their arrows go. Mathis did the same, striking one of the bandits in the chest. "Nice shot, Mathis! Keep it up!"

The soldiers of Vred and the bandits of Gren clashed. Blades slashed against the colours of both sides, and many hearts were lost. Mathis fired another bolt from his bow, hitting a bandit in his unprotected face. The brigand's inventory spewed out across the snow. "I- I got one!" the new player cried in glee.

"Don't let up! Don't let up!" Horus called out, just as Harry vanquished another bandit. "Yes! We shall clear them here and then Gren, and the Hall will once again fly the colours of Lazuline!"

The battle continued, and three more brigands fell to the blades of Vred. Then, just as Harry eviscerated one of his enemies, he looked up to see a familiar face. There stood a player wearing full iron armour and wielding an enchanted iron sword. The battle ground fell silent, as the soldiers of Fort Vred fell back to the safety of the fortress. Only Harry remained.

"What's going on?" Mathis asked, holding the string on his bow back.

The bandits in leather stepped back, leaving only Harry and the unknown iron armoured player to face each other. "Hollycross." Horus said, and pulled a diamond sword from his hotbar. "Harry! Get out of there now! Fall back!"

Harry turned to run, but Hollycross was under the effects of a potion of swiftness. The bandit ran at full speed, catching up to Harry with no effort. "Say 'hi' to Vred for me." he said, his voice horribly disfigured by the team speak. And he swung his blade into the already weakened Harry.

"No!" Horus and Shalen shouted as Harry exploded into the bits from his inventory.

"Hello, Horus." Hollycross said, approaching the fort. Captain Horus peered over the edge at his enemy. "It seems I took down your best fighter, no? Is this all Lazuline has to offer? Vred? This weakling? If that is so, He will trample the walls of your city like they were made of sticks."

"He?" Captain Horus asked, with much worry in his voice.

"That's right, Horus. He has returned." Hollycross said, and just as he finished a wicked laugh the right battlement of the fort exlpoded into a ball of cobblestone and items from the archer that had been standing there.

"Frey! No!" Shalen cried, and jumped down to the remains of his friend. "They have a TNT cannon! The have a fucking TNT cannon!" he cried up to his captain. Mathis looked out and saw that there were, indeed, two cobblestone structures standing where there had been nothing before. "How did they get those up so quickly!" he asked, just before another block of TNT flew into the base, nearly killing two other soldiers.

"Mathis!" Horus called to him from down below now. "Follow me into the mine! The rest of you get out there now!" he said, and Mathis followed the captain down into the mine and the rest of the soldiers charged back out onto the battlefield. Down below, they could here the sounds of players taking damage and the explosions of the TNT. "Mathis, I need you to do something very important. Very, very important. I need to you take something to Lazuline City." he said while holding an unfinished book and quill.

"What is it?" Mathis asked.

Now, I want you to take this book to General Farkas in Lazuline. Do not read it, and do not stop until you get there. This is very important." Captain Horus said, tossing Mathis a written book. "Take this as well. It's a potion of invisibility. Remove your armour and drink it, and no one will be able to see you." he said, and Mathis drank the potion after taking off his armour.

"What about Harry and the others?" Mathis asked.

"They are gone, Mathis. When you die on this server, you're banned for twenty years. Some return, but after a wait like that, most forget or just don't care enough to get back on. I do not think I will ever see them again. Now, get going!" he said to his invisible friend, and pressed a hidden button on the wall, opening a secret passage.

The invisible Mathis ran up the secret passageway and found that lead a short distance away from the fort. He turned around for a moment to look back at his new companions, only to see several of them fall.

With very few soldiers left, Captain Horus charged into the battle for one last fight. As he ran towards Hollycross, he took many bolts. And then he stood before Hollycross, the bane of Fort Vred. "Goodbye, Horus." Hollycross said, and both players swung their iron swords. Captain Horus vanished, leaving behind all his items and armour.

Mathis, now terrified that he too would be killed, ran as fast as he could to the north. He ran and he ran until his hunger-bar was nearly depleted, and he slowed his pace. He looked behind him, and could see that no one had been following him. Finally he was safe, or somewhat safe.

For the next five or six minutes, he walked at a normal speed. He was running out of food, and did not want to waste the little bit he had sprinting, as he had no idea how far Lazuline City was.

"Who are you and what are you doing around here?" a voice called from behind him. Mathis turned to see a played aiming a charged bow at his head.

"D-dude! Put that bow away. Please!" Mathis pleaded. His potion had worn off, and he was completely visible.

"Where's your armour? Don't play games with me either, I know you're one of those pillagers." the player said.

"Pillager? I just spawned. Well, I do have some armour, but I assure you that I'm a new player and all I want to do is get to a city." Mathis explained.

"Put your armour on then. Prove to me that you're not one of those griefing bandits or whatever they were." he said, and Mathis put on the armour that he had gotten from Fort Vred. "Oh. It's not the same colours as those guys..." he said. "Sorry about that. There are some guys marching around wearing white leather armour and grey boots."

"I haven't seen any guys like that, but I can tell you I'm not with them." Mathis said.

"Yeah. Anyway, my name is Vevo." the other player said.

"Mathis." Mathis answered back. "What are you doing out here? Do you have a house or anything?"

"Well, I did. In fact, I was living in a little village with six other players. Puzzle Town is what we called it." Vevo explained. "Then, two years ago, those guys in white armour showed up and attacked us. They killed every one of my friends and torched our houses to the ground. I've been wandering around these plains ever since."

"I was just in a battle with a bunch of bandits,... sort of, and now I'm homeless as well. Not that I had a home to begin with, but... Do you want to come with me to Lazuline City? Maybe you could live there or something?"

"Where's that at? I've been out here for a long time and haven't see any kind of structure or town or anything except for that huge city down by the ocean. The one surrounded by a huge chasm." Vevo said.

"Well, I don't know what that is, but Lazuline is apparently to the north of here. I'm just gonna keep heading that way until I see something that looks like a city." Mathis said.

"I guess I could come with you,... I don't see any point in hiding out here forever. There isn't a single tree in this place and all my saplings got destroyed in the raid." Vevo said. "Shh shh shh. Be quiet real quick."

"Why? What's going on?" he asked, and Vevo shushed him again. And then he saw it. In the distance he could see nearly forty players in white and grey armour marching to the east. "I've never seen that many players in one place before. Or at least without lag."

"Come on, we've gotta hide. The sun's rising." Vevo said, destroying a block of snow, revealing a secret ladder. The two climbed down into a dark pit, and Vevo closed the hole back up with a snow block. "We'll hide down here until night fall. It's safer to travel then." he said, throwing a torch on the wall.

"But what about monsters?" Mathis asked.

"I've seen what these white soldiers can do. I'd rather face a whole hoard of zombies." Vevo answered. "Here, take this. We can do some mining while we wait for the moon to come up." he said, tossing Mathis a stone pickaxe.

And so the two waited out the night in the little mine, mining away at the stone and coal and iron.


	3. The Walls of Lazuline

Chapter III: The Walls of Lazuline

When the sun once again ducked below the horizon and the moon resurfaced, Mathis and Vevo climbed out from their hidden tomb. They did not see any monsters yet, but they were ready for them. Vevo had found a bit of iron down in his mine and crafted an iron sword for both of them, and an iron helmet for himself. "I don't see anything..." Mathis said, looking around.

"I don't hear anything either." Vevo said. "Looks like we're in the clear. Now, where's this city of yours?"

"This way." he said, and started to sprint to the north. Vevo had been growing mushrooms down in his underground hideout, so they both had plenty of food to refuel their sprint.

The two ran for a little over two Minecraft days until Vevo saw something in the distance. "Mathis! Get down!" he cried in a hushed shout. They ducked in behind a short hill that was nearby. "That was close!"

"What was it? More of those white guys?" Mathis asked.

"Yeah. Ten of them, I think. And it looks like they had someone else with them. A guy without any armour." Vevo said, and peered over the top of the hill. "Oh shoot!" he squeaked, and quickly dug an indent into the dirt wall. "Get in!" he said, and Mathis followed him into the hole.

Just as they were both safely out of site, ten soldiers garbed in white armour and dark grey leather boots marched by. In the centre of their procession was an unarmoured player who looked very much like a prisoner. "Just wait until you're face to face with the master. You'll talk then fo' sure!" one of the soldiers snorted.

"That's Rock! That's one of my friends from the village! He's alive!" Vevo whispered, and started to creep out of the hole.

"Vevo, wait! We can't do anything for him. Look at them." Mathis said, and Vevo stopped. "If we charge in there, we'll die. I feel sorry for your friend, but I absolutely can not die. I need to deliver this book to Lazuline."

Vevo watched as his friend disappeared into the horizon. "I guess you're right..." he sighed. "What is this book of yours anyway?"

"I don't really know... I'm not allowed to read it." he explained. "All I know is that I'm supposed to take it to some general in the city."

"Wait, wait, wait. A general? As in a military general? Oh, I don't know if I wanna get mixed up in some army business. I'm not into that. All I want to do is build." Vevo said.

"Vevo, I may not understand this server just yet, but I do know that what I'm doing is important. When I spawned, I was in the middle of nowhere with no supplies or food or anything. When I found Fort Vred, they took me in like I was a friend and geared me up. Then out of nowhere, a team of bandits showed up and obliterated them. They, a full force of the Lazuline army, were defeated in mere minutes. I feel that these bandits were not just rogue players that wanted to kill us for our loot. It was part of something bigger. And this book holds the secrets to that." Mathis said, pulling the book out of his inventory and looking at it.

"Well, then read what it says. At least then you'll know for sure if going to the city is really worth it." Vevo said.

"No. I'm going to take it to this General... General Farkas. Somehow I feel that he'll know what to do." Mathis said.

"Alright then, let's get a move on." the other player said, and Mathis lead the way again, heading North to where this city supposedly set.

Another few Minecraft days later they left the Alabaster Plains and reached the edge of the Green Plains. "Look! Trees!" Mathis cried, and ran towards a small woods made up of about twenty or thirty birch trees.

"You act like you've never seen a Minecraft tree before, Mathis." Vevo said and joined in on the tree punching.

"Not on this server. I've been playing for hours now and these are the first things other than dirt, stone, and snow that I've seen." Mathis explained. "There, I think this is enough for awhile." he said, finishing off the last log of one of the trees.

"Oh... my... Notch..." Vevo said, and Mathis turned to look for what he had found.

"What is it? I don't see anything." he asked. And then it rendered into his view. "There is no way this was made in Survival Mode..."

In the distance they could see the tall towers of Lazuline. The walls were made of stone bricks, netherbricks, and stone slabs. Adorning the tops of the walls were blocks of blue and lime green wool, the colours of the Lazuline people. "That has to be it!" Vevo said.

"Right, let's get moving! The sooner I get this book to Farkas, the better!" Mathis said, and sprinted in the direction of the massive city. As they approached it, they slowed to take in the splendour that was the very walls. So much detail had went into them, and they could not believe that players with no powers or Creative abilities had built them up to the height where it barely rendered fully on Far.

"Who are you, soldier? I don't remember your face? New skin?" a guard asked Mathis as they arrived at the main gate.

"Soldier?" Mathis asked, and then remembered his armour. "I'm no soldier. This armour was given to me by the guards of Fort Vred. I need to speak to General Farkas. Captain Horus gave me a book I'm supposed to deliver to him."

"You know Horus? I used to work with him and Harry back when we still had Gren Hall. How is he?" the guard asked.

"He's... dead." the player said sadly.

"D-dead? What happened? Who are you!?" the guard shouted, and drew his iron sword.

"I am Mathis, a new player and friend of Captain Horus. Like I said, I have a note that I need to take to General Farkas from Horus, and it is of dire importance." Mathis said, pulling the book onto his hotbar.

"How can Horus be dead? He's been here since... well before the Great War. This is just so... Let's get you to the general right away!" the guard said, and pulled a lever that opened the city gate. The sound of pistons went off and the iron gate slowly receded into the ground. "Follow me!" he said, and darted into the city.

Mathis and Vevo followed after him, getting their first look at one of the great cities of Notchavia. Players were coming in and out of wood and stone houses. Stores lined the streets with vendors and customers exchanging whatever currency the city used. And in the very centre of the city was a tower nearly as tall as the walls made of stone bricks and decorated with lapis and emerald blocks.

"Ready, set, fire! Ready, set, fire! Ready, set, fire!" a player dressed in full iron armour repeated and the players he directed shot at their targets.

"General, I've got some bad news..." the guard said as he, Mathis, and Vevo approached him.

"What is it, Porthos? Can't you see I'm busy?" General Farkas asked, and turned back to his trainees.

"Sir,... Horus is dead." Porthos said, and turned to Mathis. "This player can explain, I think."

"Captain Horus, is dead? Then Vred,..." Farkas asked, staring deeply at Mathis.

"Fort Vred has been destroyed. It was attacked by bandits and we just couldn't fend them off. They built TNT cannons that took out our defences... and then this bandit named Hollycross-" Mathis was cut off before he finished his explaination.

"Hollycross of Deadforce? He's back?" Farkas growled.

"Horus told me to give this to you,... before he died." Mathis said, tossing the book to the general.

General Farkas took the book and began to read. For several minutes he was silent, and when he was finished, he looked to Porthos. "What is it, General? Is Hollycross rebuilding the army?"

"Hollycross... isn't what we need to be worried about..." he said, and turned his back to the three. "He's back, Porthos. The lord of Deadforce has returned."

"The lor- no! That can't be true. He's been gone for over one hundred years! Why would he come back?!" Porthos asked. His voice sounded hysterical.

"Who's back? I thought you said that Hollycross isn't something to worry about?" Vevo asked.

"Caulrin." General Farkas said, and the sounds of noteblocks went off like a siren.


	4. News of Doom

Chapter IV: News of Doom

The alarms blared all over the city and Farkas and Porthos ran off towards the centre tower. "What's going on? What is this Caulrin thing?" Mathis asked as he and Vevo tagged along behind.

"No time! We've got visitors!" Porthos called back in a way that let Mathis know that visitors may not be a good thing.

When they reached the tower, General Farkas called up to one of the guards on the lower windows. "What is it? Bandits?" he asked.

"Twelve players on hogback! Garbed in cactus green armour and brown caps!" the guard called down to him.

"Canopius? What do they want?" Porthos asked.

"I don't know, but I pray to Notch that it's not another territory dispute. We can not afford a war with Jregen. Not if he really has returned." Farkas growled.

"Who? Hollycross? Or this Caulrin thing?" Vevo asked.

"You two, come with me! After I settle this thing with the Canopians, I'm going to want to talk to you about what you saw some more." Farkas said to Mathis and Vevo, ignoring their question. "Porthos, head up to the throneroom. Tell him that we may need to prepare for war." he said, and Mathis and Vevo followed him to the town gate.

The Canopian hogriders arrived at the gate just as they did. Farkas spoke to them before the other gate guard got the chance to. "What can I do for you fine riders today?" he asked them.

"We require council with the general of the Lazuline army." a female player said as she stood up off of her pig.

"That would be me then. And whom am I speaking to?" the general asked.

"I am Celcey, commander of Cardio Company of the Canopian army." the girl said. "Could we perhaps speak somewhere more... private?"

Farkas showed Celcey and her company to the basement floor of the centre tower. He told Mathis and Vevo to wait outside and he and the jungle soldiers went into the room. A few minutes later the group emerged and Farkas turned to the two waiting outside. "I think its time for you to see the king." he said, looking at Mathis.

Celcey told her company to head to the tavern, and the four players climbed the winding netherbrick staircase to the very top of the centre tower. They entered the kings throneroom where the king of Lazuline "sat" upon his throne. "Who are these players, General Farkas, and why have you brought them to my feet?" the king asked. Mathis could not help but admire the lord's glowing diamond armour.

"Vermes-king, Porthos has informed you of the possible war, yes?" Farkas asked, and the king remained silent. "Well, it seems that this is more than true. This is Celcey, a commander of the forces of the Jungle of Jregen.

"Sire, my company was stationed at the boarder of the Breaking Forest and the Alabaster Plains. Fort Battenhaus was the name of our station. When we received word that a nearby town, out of the districts of any king, was having troubles with bandits, we took it upon ourselves to help them. For two years we watched the town until at last the bandits attacked again, and my company rushed in. The bandits fled then, and we gave chase." Celcey said.

"I am not seeing the point that has brought you here to my seat, Commander." the king said. "Bandit raids are by far a rare occurrence. At least thirty new players join this world every year, and from those thirty at least five become bandits. Some players just want to feel the thrill of angering or ruining the fun of others."

"I know that, Your Magesty. Canopius has its own bandit problem, and I am not here to trouble you with it." Commander Celcey said. "My point lies with where we chased the bandits to. After we chased them out of the village we followed them all the way to the southern coast of Alabaster. To Deadforce City."

"And what of it?" King Vermes asked, now with anger in his voice. "Deadforce _is_ the city of bandits. If there was one place in Notchavia that I would ever be surprised to find a decent and honest player, it would be that Notchforsaken chunk!"

"Again, I know. Please be patient sir, I am not wasting your time, I promise." Celcey said. "For half a year we stayed outside of Deadforce and watched the players within. There was something strange about the city now. It seemed to be... in order. The players were not killing each other or griefing the buildings or walls or doing anything you'd expect them to do. No, they were mining and building and... it just wasn't bandit behaviour."

King Vermes sighed heavily. "I have heard through the sugarcane that Hollycross has reappeared in Deadforce and has been trying to rebuild the White Army. I can see why one might be worried, but I suggest you don't raise any alarm. Hollycross does not possess the skills nor the mail and blade of the Enderlord. That is not to say I think we should ignore him. At the most, I think we should send one hundred or so soldiers from each kingdom to stamp on his kindling before it sets off."

"Vermes-king,... you don't understand. Hollycross isn't the reason I came here. It's Caulrin. The Enderlord has returned." Celcey said at last.

"Th-the Enderlord? H-how do you know?" Vermes asked, his anger had been replaced with worry.

"At first, we just heard rumours from bandits that would pass by us. Then, we started to see signs of his return. At last... we saw him. We saw the Enderlord himself, standing at the top of his tower, looking down at his once powerful and terrible kingdom." Celcey said.

"Can someone please tell us what this Enderlord thing is?" Vevo asked.

"Who are these two again?" Vermes asked.

"Mathis and Vevo. Mathis is the sole survivor of Hollycross' assault on Fort Vred." Farkas answered.

"So, you experienced the wrath of Caulrin personally, eh Mathis? Well, then I suppose you deserve to know. You deserve to know the Tale of Brigandale."


	5. The Tale of Brigandale

Chapter V: The Tale of Brigandale

"Many years ago, back when the world was fresh and before the time of the bandits, all players spawned around the original spawnpoint. The mountains there were rich in iron and gold, and with this the original players built a thriving village. This village became the first of the great cities, and today we know it as Aldburg.

"Aldburg was the original home of the Five Powers; Othar, Reginald, Jregen, myself... and Caulrin. Together, the Five ruled Aldburg and the land now known as the Old Mountains. But as more players joined the server and spread across the land that would someday be called Notchavia, their rule began to weaken. It was then decided that Notchavia would be divided into five kingdoms, and one of the Five would rule each. Othar was to stay in the Old Mountains and rule over Aldburg, I was to rule over the Green Plains, Jregen was to rule over the eastern jungle that would one day hold his name as well as the Black Swamp, Reginald was to rule over the Vast Desert in the north, and Caulrin was given the Alabaster Plains to the south.

"As the success of the five kingdoms grew, so did the population of the server. However, with all of the players that wanted to see progression with the world, there were those that wanted to see it in chaos, or at the very least make something of themselves from nothing. These were, of course, bandits.

"With the ever increasing rise in bandits and griefers, each kingdom crafted an army and soon the wicked players were forced from the four northern kingdoms down to the Alabaster Plains. Caulrin did very little about them then, and this allowed them to develop their own societies away from the governments of the Five Powers. One of these villages rose above the rest.

"For several years, the bandits fought themselves for the most part and left the decent players be. This ended after the construction of the city of bandits. The true name of this town has been lost to time, but it soon became known as Brigandale to the world. From here the bandits could hold a form of order and plan their raids. Within five years it became one of the wealthiest and most powerful town in all of Notchavia, rivalling the power of Othar's army.

"Of course, Brigandale was not a nice place. It was, after all, a town run by the players who loved chaos. There was constant murder and griefing and all the things that decent players would not do. This would change when Caulrin decided to put an end to the raids plaguing his land.

"The bandits were surprised when they saw the king of Alabaster ride up into the limits of the small city on the back of a pig alone. Even a full army would have feared to do this and yet Caulrin was as calm as can be. And garbed in his enchanted diamond armour and wielding his enchanted bow, he strode down the middle of town, and stopped at the centre.

"By nature, bandits are lazy. They did not want to mine or work for wealth and power in that way, they only wish to take what others have earned. This was why they reacted so poorly when Caulrin decided to shout into the city and commanded them to work in his mines.

"Caulrin was not stupid, in fact he is arguably the smartest and most talented Minecraft player I have ever known, so he knew what the bandits would do. They charged at him, swinging at him with their diamond blades, firing at him with arrows and TNT, and doing whatever they could to damage him. But the King of Alabaster would not die. His armour was enchanted with a combination that withstood everything, and the brigands could not cope with this. He slaughtered half of their forces, and when he was done, they had submitted to him entirely. Caulrin was now the lord of bandits.

"For the next few years Caulrin stayed in Brigandale, leaving Alabaster City in the care of Forgast, his trusted friend. While in the city of bandits he planned to turn them around and mould them into decent players. Or this is what he told the other four powers.

"Ten years Caulrin worked the players of Brigandale. It seemed that he never left the server and the city was forever full as if the players had no life, giving it the new name of Deadforce City. It was at this time that all of Notchavia was shocked.

"Early one morning in the 127th year of this world, Alabaster City was attacked by the largest army Minecraft had ever seen. Forgast tried his best to fend off the invaders, but when their leader stepped onto the battlefield, it was over. Caulrin had betrayed his own city, taking it by force and murdering all of his very own citizens. The strength of the White Army was so powerful that no player escaped. The ones that did not join his force were slaughtered. The stories of this day were not known until the dead players returned thirty years later.

"Within the next few days, the White Army had managed to demolish every town in the Alabaster Plains and the size of his army had grown by half of itself. If wasn't until he marched into the Green Plains that we knew of his treachery. I rose the alarm and sent my army out to stop him. At the Ravine of Goldberry we clashed, and I lost two thirds of my men instantly.

"My kingdom was evacuated and we retreated to the north. Reginald's army joined us then and soon after that the forces of Jregen. With this force, we were able to hold off Caulrin long enough for a team to climb the Old mountains to Aldburg and alert Othar of the threat.

"At last, the four good armies of Notchavia were together and we were able to damage the White Army. For five years we fought them until both sides were exhausted of stamina and resources. The White Army parted like the sea then, and down the centre of his forces walked the Enderlord. With a single swipe of his enchanted blade, he took out soldiers in full leather armour and with a single arrow fired from his bow, he could kill a player garbed in iron. He charged towards the four of us, killing any player who would stand in his way, even if they flew the colours of Deadforce.

"Othar commanded us to stand back then, and he approached Caulrin himself. For a few moments, the two warriors stared each other down and then in a flash they charged at each other, bashing their powerful swords into their near impenetrable armour. The sun rose five times during the terrible fight, when finally the helm of Othar cracked and one final blow from Caulrin's blade struck down the mighty king of the Old Mountains.

"We remaining powers watched in horror as Othar's gear spewed out of the block he once stood upon. I am ashamed to say that I was too terrified to move or do anything... and I feel that the other two were the same.

"But it was here that the world was forever changed. As Caulrin approached the three of us, an unknown player dressed in full diamond armour charged at Caulrin, and in shock of this, the Enderlord accidentally threw his blade to the ground, and the player picked it up. With the power of the Endsword, the player destroyed Caulrin, and a few short days later, the White Army was forced to retreat back to Deadforce City.

"We never knew what happened to that player that saved us all that day, but we will never forget him. But now it seems that we may need him again, as Caulrin will not make the same mistake twice."

For a moment or two every player in the throne room remained silent. It was Mathis that spoke up. "How could one player ever get so powerful? I mean, this is Minecraft. It has its limits."

"He used the power of the End, thus why he is known as the Enderlord." an unfamiliar voice called from behind them. They turned to see a player skinned to look like an old man in a robe standing in the doorway of the throneroom. "Caulrin had secured the only Endportal in Notchavia for himself. Once every seven years, the Enderdragon is set to respawn, providing an unlimited amount of experience for him to build up his army."

"Cosmis the wise... For what do I have the pleasure of having one of the Guards in my palace?" Vermes asked the unknown player.

"I am in need of an escort to a new grassy site in the southern border of the Vast Desert. Two is all I need, and I have a stack of gold to pay for them each." the one named Cosmis said, holding out a gold nugget.

"And what would you need an escort for? Surely you of all people could make it to Reginald's kingdom by yourself." Vermes questioned.

"The escorts are not for me. You see there is a town being built on said site, and they need wool for beds and decoration. They are to purchase a few sheep from a shepard outside of this city, but she can not get there on her own. I would take her there myself, but I must report back to Eyesofguard to deal with this Caulrin business." the wise one said.

"Caulrin business? You mean to tell me that you knew about all this?" the king asked angrily.

"Yes? Gigarem told me of this... oh twelve or so years ago? He said that he had sent a messenger to each of the cities... perhaps the one sent to Lazuline became lost?" Cosmis said with a questioning tone in his voice.

"Perhaps..." Vermes growled. He then turned to Mathis and Vevo. "Yes, I think I can spare a few soldiers. These two here will make fine escorts." he said, and the two looked at each other. "I can not have any of my men sent on such an errand at this time if Caulrin has returned. Also, if you travel northward to some nowhere town, you'll be much safer." he whispered to them.

"Splendid! Let's get a move on then!" Cosmis said, and turned to leave after giving King Vermes the gold nuggets.

"Vermes-king. I will have my company travel to the towns in your kingdom and warn them of the situation." Celcey said. "And I will traveling with the shepard as well to see that she is safe."

"As you wish, Commander. And when you get back to Canopius, tell Jregen 'When the night falls over a black morning, may the light not save us'."


End file.
